10% Tax

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

This is just a very basic idea that I've been thinking about a lot. 10% tax. Across the board. 10% federal tax. 10% state tax. 10% property tax. 10% sales tax (or maybe a 10% VAT). 10% tax on corporations/businesses. No loopholes. No deductions.

What do you guys think?

 

[Zorkorist]

Work on the deficit and get back to us.

Taxes are only a game we are playing.

-John

 

[soundforbjt]

This is just a very basic idea that I've been thinking about a lot. 10% tax. Across the board. 10% federal tax. 10% state tax. 10% property tax. 10% sales tax (or maybe a 10% VAT). 10% tax on corporations/businesses. No loopholes. No deductions.

What do you guys think?

What about churches?

 

[shira]

You do understand that a 10% property tax is outrageous, don't you?

Imagine an old person who lives in a "average" house, worth about $300,000. This retiree has been living in the house for decades and owns the house free and clear. In most counties, that person would pay about $3000 in property taxes. But you're going to have that person pay $30,000 a year? That exceeds the maximum SS payment, so you're going to bankrupt them and force them out of their house. And any apartment they tried to move to would be similarly taxed, so the rent would need to be outrageously high, to cover not only the mortgage but also the property tax. So apartments would become unaffordable for retirees (and many other people), and they'd have absolutely nowhere to live, except on the street.

Great idea.

Oh, and your income tax "solution" is equally absurd.

 

[Patranus]

This is just a very basic idea that I've been thinking about a lot. 10% tax. Across the board. 10% federal tax. 10% state tax. 10% property tax. 10% sales tax (or maybe a 10% VAT). 10% tax on corporations/businesses. No loopholes. No deductions.

What do you guys think?

Thats way too much tax.

A 15% flat tax at the federal level and a 5% tax at the county/state level would raise more than enough revenue and be much more simple.

(Though I would rather have the state/county get the 15% and the feds get the 5%)

 

[Red Dawn]

What about churches?

Well Churches shouldn't aquire wealth and what ever wealth they aquired should be given to charaties, build schools, hospitals, soup kitchens ect. That is if they would do what Jesus would do. If they don't and build opulent houses of worship, drive Cadillacs, live in Mansions like the Joel Osteen types they should be taxed to the hilt.

 

[Red Dawn]

Regarding the Federal Tax rates I think we should go back to the level they were when the great Republican President Eisenhower was in office.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Well the numbers are arbitrary, the point is that the taxes would be equal across the board.

 

[child of wonder]

What about churches?

This.

Churches should be taxed like any other business, as the recent closings of less profitable Catholic churches has shown.

 

[Scotteq]

This is just a very basic idea that I've been thinking about a lot. 10% tax. Across the board. 10% federal tax. 10% state tax. 10% property tax. 10% sales tax (or maybe a 10% VAT). 10% tax on corporations/businesses. No loopholes. No deductions.

What do you guys think?

Very poor people pay no federal or state taxes. Your idea would take them to 30% (presuming they don't make enough to buy a house), instead of Sales Tax + FICA/SS deductions


Middle Class and Rich people pay (a lot!) more than that. I already pay huge Property taxes in "lovely" Dunellen. Sales tax here is 7%. I pay 36% in Federal Taxes. And another 8~9% to my State. Add it up and it's more than half my income.


So your system would penalize the poor instead of give them a badly needed break, gift the rich, and continue to screw pretty much everyone else...


So I think your idea stinks.

 

[Scotteq]

You do understand that a 10% property tax is outrageous, don't you?

Unless you live in NJ...

Eagerly awaiting the day I can leave this sh*thole state.

 

[piasabird]

That may be a tax increase for some people. Most state taxes are not that high. Most sales tax is not that high either. Both the state and the feds have a higher tax than that for GAS. One thing for sure is that if we just did away with all of our exemptions only people running a business and collecting sales tax would have to file taxes.

Good luck getting 2 states to aggree on anything.

The best system we could have is a tax system where most people do not have to file a tax return. So many laws and regulations and investments and real estate is based on manipulating the tax system to your favor. So no one thing could simplyfy the government more than a flat tax system. The problem would be trying to retrain how people think.

 

[piasabird]

A church is not a business. Your hatred of churches is your problem.

 

[piasabird]

When I said that a flat tax system would require retraining how people think, I really meant that. This concept that a tax hurts or helps the poor more than the rich or rich people need to be taxed more is just an attempt at Class warfare. The problem is we need to do away with all tax laws that favor any class of people. Treat everyone fairly.

It is politicians that craft tax laws to create class warfare. Politicians are the enemy of all people. They seek to pit one group of people against another.

 

[Scotteq]

When I said that a flat tax system would require retraining how people think, I really meant that. This concept that a tax hurts or helps the poor more than the rich or rich people need to be taxed more is just an attempt at Class warfare. The problem is we need to do away with all tax laws that favor any class of people. Treat everyone fairly.

When you make $20K a year, $2000 hurts a LOT. It's a couple month's worth of Rent. It's food on the table. It's clothes for your kids. It means keeping your car running for another year so you don't have to buy another one.


When you make $200K a year, you may not like writing a cheque for $20K... But you can pay your mortgage, feed/clothe/educate your kids, go on vacation, drive a luxury car, and still have plenty left to hire the $20K guy's wife to clean your house and wash the skid marks out of your shorts.



"Flat Taxes" ***ARE*** Class Warfare, merely veiled under a banner of 'fairness' so that simpletons can be convinced to buy into the idea.

 

[child of wonder]

A church is not a business. Your hatred of churches is your problem.

Churches advertise like any other business in the hopes of having more members attend which, in turn, means more money in the offering plate. In exchange, members receive feelings of euphoria from spiritual sermons and songs, along with a place to gather with people of like minded beliefs.

They have operating expenses and income. When the income exceeds expenses, they have a profit which they often use to expand and grow.

Yes, my friend, they are a business.

 

[EagleKeeper]

A church is not a business.

Look at the Roman Catholic church for an example.
It acts cut throat whenever challenged both within its core (Catholic Religion) and also PR with respect to any slander.

Then all the TV type preacher shows and the assestts that they have accumulated.

It may not belong to one person/small group in some cases; but it is run exactly like a business.

They do cost benefit analysis of expenses as to the greatest returns and determine where to "invest" their profits.

 

[soundforbjt]

A church is not a business. Your hatred of churches is your problem.

The Catholic church used to own Yankee Stadium! Was it used as a place of worship or a moneymaker? They need to pay their share when they own things like that.

 

[Patranus]

The Catholic church used to own Yankee Stadium! Was it used as a place of worship or a moneymaker? They need to pay their share when they own things like that.

Being a non profit has nothing to do with making money.
Some non profits make significant amounts of money.

 

[soundforbjt]

Being a non profit has nothing to do with making money.
Some non profits make significant amounts of money.

Where do you think some of the money from that went? Do you really think all of it went to charity or maybe gold candlesticks, etc.?

 

[drebo]

When I said that a flat tax system would require retraining how people think, I really meant that. This concept that a tax hurts or helps the poor more than the rich or rich people need to be taxed more is just an attempt at Class warfare. The problem is we need to do away with all tax laws that favor any class of people. Treat everyone fairly.

It is politicians that craft tax laws to create class warfare. Politicians are the enemy of all people. They seek to pit one group of people against another.

The only way a flat tax works is if it's a consumption-based tax. A flat tax on income hurts the poor, is unfair to the rich, and completely fucks the middle class.

That said, I would support replacing the federal income tax with a federal sales tax.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Wow! Your ideas are so bad I don't know where to start.

10% property tax, beyond ridiculous
10% sales tax, ridiculous
10% state tax, ridiculous

10% corporate tax rate, ridiculously low
10% flat federal income tax, very very bad idea and a pure gift to the wealthy

Your simplistic ideas are misguided and just plan bad for the country

 

[piasabird]

Lots of churches own or run businesses. Some church run businesses that are for profit and some are run as a break-even endeavour. Then some ventures make money and the money is donated to a good cuase or a portion goes to charity. Even a church fund raiser could be said to be a business. Catholics and others are notorious for running Church Bingo and having events like Sausage and Pancake breakfasts or running a barbeque operation our of a truck. However, most of the time this money goes back to the church.

Some churches pay their clergy and some do not. I know in my church most of the clergy are expected to have a full time job and work in the church for free. Only people that are called for full-time positions like president of the Church or an Apostle or a General Authority are paid. This is only because they have to forsake all earthly endeavours and businesses they may have and spend all of their time working for the church. If they owned a business someone else would have to run it.

Every church manages its affairs how they see fit and that is fine.

Churches are not the only non-profit organizations. For instance if there is an event like a concert or a marathon for Cancer, or whatever the cause may be, it is about the same thing as what a church is doing. AARP sells insurance products and other things.

 

[Patranus]

Where do you think some of the money from that went? Do you really think all of it went to charity or maybe gold candlesticks, etc.?

The same place the money for PETA or Media Matters goes....

 

[Patranus]

When you make $20K a year, $2000 hurts a LOT. It's a couple month's worth of Rent. It's food on the table. It's clothes for your kids. It means keeping your car running for another year so you don't have to buy another one.


When you make $200K a year, you may not like writing a cheque for $20K... But you can pay your mortgage, feed/clothe/educate your kids, go on vacation, drive a luxury car, and still have plenty left to hire the $20K guy's wife to clean your house and wash the skid marks out of your shorts.



"Flat Taxes" ***ARE*** Class Warfare, merely veiled under a banner of 'fairness' so that simpletons can be convinced to buy into the idea.

How is that class warfare?
All "classes" are treated equally.

Having one group pay nothing and the other group pay everything is pitting the classes against each other.